The Library
by not-so-average-fangirl
Summary: Beca struggles with her new found sexuality and finds comfort in reading stories about lesbian relationships. She visits her local library one day to see what books they have, but winds up finding something– or rather someone– even better. (Bechloe AU)
1. Unexpected Discovery

**Author's 1st Note: Hey guys! So this was a short Bechloe AU fic I had originally written back in 2015. I decided to revisit and update it, and I've changed a few things here and there.**

 **You can find the original upload under my "Bechloe Prompts" collection if you want to read that one too.**

 **Either way, I hope you enjoy this little ficlet! :)**

* * *

It's not that Beca didn't want others to know about her most recent self discovery. But everything was still so new, and Beca wanted to make sure she wasn't just going through a _"phase"_ before blurting it out to her loved ones that she was attracted to girls.

It had been a year since Beca really noticed this side of her. She had always considered herself straight until she began acknowledging the way her heart would beat faster when she noticed a pretty girl in the same room, or how the prominent pressure in her lower region would throb whenever a girl would dry herself off in front of her in the locker room.

Beca hadn't planned for this to happen. Not at all. But since it had, Beca was still struggling to figure it all out.

Social media helped. Beca found ways to soothe her curiosities by watching movies or television shows that depicted lesbian characters. She also found satisfying therapy in reading stories.

Fan fictions were always her first choice. There was a sense of freedom in the online writings that Beca didn't find apparent in normal books. But unfortunately, when the pace of new story posts and updates slowed, Beca decided that a trip to her local library would have to suffice.

Beca didn't visit the library that often, and whenever she did, the only section that she had any sense of familiarity with was "Teen Fiction". Sure she was already seventeen years old, but hey. That still counted as being a " _teen"…_ right?

When she finally reached the library, Beca began her search there. She was totally judging books by their covers and only pulled out the ones with titles that seemed "gay". After a few failing minutes, Beca accepted that this tactic wasn't going very well, and decided to search in a different way.

Beca found an open computer by the main desk and sat down, knowing how stupid it was to try to be secretive about it. Beca quickly looked around, making sure no one could see her screen, and after confirming the coast was clear, started looking up lesbian books.

After typing in a few different key words, Beca eventually found a decent list of books that genuinely intrigued her. She picked up a small piece of paper and pencil from the blue basket sitting on the desk, and began writing down the call numbers of the books that had the most appealing summaries.

Beca wound up with six different options and stared at the screen, pondering which book she should go find first.

" _Style_ has always been one of my favorites."

Beca jumped, startled by the unexpected voice, and quickly spun around in her chair. Her eyes were wide and her heart pounded in her chest as her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

Someone saw what kind of books she was looking for.

Though as panicked as Beca initially felt, she was surprised to feel her anxiety suddenly mollify as she took in the sight of the captivating girl in front of her.

Beautiful red hair was perfectly complimented by sparkling blue eyes and they gleamed along with the stunning grin curved on her lips. Beca's befuddled expression must have been amusing, because the redhead giggled and Beca tried not to think about the way it made her stomach flip.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." The girl apologized, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I just thought I would help."

This girl was ridiculously gorgeous and for some reason, Beca wasn't all that upset at her intrusion. After awkwardly staring at her for a few moments too long, Beca finally snapped out of her daze and licked her lips before speaking.

"N-No. It's okay, uh–" Beca took the pencil and looked down at the list to circle, _"Style,"_ then held the paper up. "I'll go check it out." She smiled. "Thanks."

"I can show you where it is if you want." Beca blinked at the sudden offer and the girl quickly shook her head, backtracking her words. "I-I mean, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be forward or anything. I just thought that, you know, if you did wanna get the book I could–" The redhead must have caught on to her rambling and stopped to close her eyes and take a much needed breath. "I just thought I could show you where it is." She reopened her eyes and smiled sheepishly.

Beca snickered at the girl's unintentional charm and quirked a brow. "Do you like, come here a lot or something?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"Oh!" The girl chuckled. "Sorry, I should have mentioned this before." She glanced down and held up a badge that Beca hadn't noticed before. "I work here." She grinned.

"Oh." Beca processed. "Well, that's cool, um–" She took a moment to look at her list again and couldn't believe she was about to let this beautiful girl lead her to a book that was about two girls falling in love with each other. "Yeah, sure. You can–" Beca cleared her throat. "You can show me where it is."

"Great!" The girl beamed, earning a cautionary shush from the older librarian manning the center desk. The redhead jerked her lip to the side and whispered, _"Sorry,"_ before looking back at Beca with a smile. "This way." She guided them through the aisles and Beca couldn't help the way her eyes kept landing on her as they walked. They stopped midway at a shelf on the other side of the library and the girl carefully pulled out the book. "Here ya go."

Beca shook away her clouded thoughts and ignored the way her skin tingled where their fingers lightly brushed each other as she took it.

"I'm Chloe by the way." The redhead smiled.

"Beca." She grinned back, something in the back of her mind telling her that she would definitely be visiting the library more often.

* * *

 **Author's 2nd Note: For the record I HIGHLY recommend the book, "Style" by Chelsea M. Cameron. It's SO freakin' cute! You guys would love it.**

 **Click on for part 2!**


	2. Returning

**Author's 1st Note: Enjoy! :D**

* * *

Maybe it was little _too_ ambitious of Beca to finish the book so soon, but she just couldn't help it. The story was _really_ good and it easily captivated her from beginning to end.

When Beca went back to the library– just two days later– she convinced herself that the visit was totally random and didn't have anything to do with the attractive redhead working there. That was just a coincidence. Beca was simply going there to return her book and maybe check out another. That was it.

Nothing more, nothing less.

So maybe Beca took a brief moment to compose herself before entering the public facility. That certainly didn't mean anything. She just wanted to straighten herself up because she had just walked six blocks to get there. Pfft… _obviously_.

Beca walked inside and dropped her book into the return bin before making her way into the main library. She cautiously walked in and glanced around.

But not like she was looking for someone… because she wasn't.

When her eyes landed on distinctive red hair, her heart skipped a beat and for some reason her initial reaction was to hop behind one of the shelves and peek through the opening above the books.

Because she was clearly just trying to– just– just trying to...

Oh, alright! So maybe Beca had a _slight_ crush on this Chloe girl. It wasn't anything major. Just a "curiosity" if you will.

Yeah… That was it.

Beca watched as the redhead scanned a few books at the main desk and piled them on top of each other. After stacking about ten books, Chloe picked up the heap of novels and used her chin to hold them in place as she disappeared around the corner.

Beca decided this would be the perfect opportunity for her to go "search for a book" and accidentally– _purposely–_ bump into Chloe along the way.

Beca waited about a minute before making her move and slipping out of her hiding spot. She walked casually, trying her best not to seem like she was totally aiming for a specific destination.

When she made it around the corner, Beca slowly peeked her head through the opening of the first aisle and was saddened to discover that it was ginger-less. Beca then moved on to the next row, but wound up with the same result. No Chloe.

After moving passed the third, fourth, and fifth rows, Beca began to wonder where the hell Chloe could have possibly gone. Beca scratched her head and looked over her shoulder as she continued her failing search, and just as she was about to pass the last aisle, Beca found herself crashing right into Chloe, causing the remaining books in her hands to fall to the ground.

"Ow!" They groaned in unison, instinctively bringing their hands up to rub the sore spots on their foreheads.

Chloe was the first one to open her eyes, a smile creeping on her lips when she registered Beca's familiar face.

"Hey!" She grinned, earning the reveal of steel blue eyes looking at her through disheveled brown hair. "It's Beca, right?"

The brunette nodded, still rubbing her forehead and hating herself for miserably blowing her initial plan. "Yeah, sorry for–" She gestured at the spilled books on the floor and Chloe giggled.

"Oh, it's okay. I don't mind." She joked, but the comment lingered in Beca's mind.

 _What the hell did she mean by that?_

Beca was brought back from her thoughts when Chloe crouched down to pick up the fallen books. It _was_ Beca's fault that they fell in the first place, so she quickly followed the redhead's lead and, for some reason, couldn't stop thinking about the cheesy idea of their hands accidentally touching if they both reached for the last book at the same time.

But unfortunately this was real life and not some fan fiction written by a twenty-something year old girl on her laptop, so Chloe picked up the last book before Beca could get to it and the brunette reluctantly shook away her fluffy wish.

They stood up together. "Thanks." Chloe smiled, and glanced at the books in Beca's hands. "Wanna help me put the rest of these away?"

"Yeah, sure." Beca said, surprised at how quickly the response came out of her mouth.

"Awes!" Chloe gleed, and Beca quirked an amused brow at her.

Beca followed Chloe through the rows of books and internally smiled at the way Chloe would pleasantly hum to herself as she searched for their correct locations.

* * *

"So did you like the book?" Chloe asked, placing the last one on the shelf.

"Yeah, I did." She said, honestly. "It was actually pretty good."

With no more books to distract her, Chloe finally turned to fully face Beca and released an expressive moan. Beca knew it wasn't supposed to sound sexual, but she felt her cheeks involuntarily heating up at the sound anyway.

"Ugh, I love that story so much!" Chloe said. "I swear I've read it, like, five times."

Beca snickered. "I don't blame you. It's a good read." Chloe nodded with another adorable smile and Beca quickly cleared her throat before her stomach could twist into an even tighter knot than it already was. "S-So, um… Do you have any other recommendations?"

Chloe's face lit up and she hummed as she cheerfully nodded. "This way." She guided Beca a few rows back and was quick to locate another book for her. Chloe happily handed it to her and led them back out to the front desk.

Beca was anxiously biting the inside of her cheek as Chloe scanned her library card and proceeded to checkout the book. A brash and inappropriate question was painfully itching in the back of her mind, and it wasn't until Chloe finished and slid the book towards her that Beca finally snapped out of her pondering and returned her attention back to the redhead.

"There ya go." Chloe smiled, and Beca felt like she was going to burst if she didn't get it out.

"Thanks, um–" She darted her eyes away from Chloe, knowing if she continued to make eye contact with her, she probably wouldn't be able to get the question out. "Listen, I don't mean to be crude or anything, but uh, are you–" Wow, this was hard. "D-Do you, um–" Beca let out a frustrated breath and rolled her eyes at herself before finding the courage she needed to finally get on with it. She returned her gaze back to the patient redhead. "Do you like girls?"

Chloe raised her brows at the bold question and Beca immediately began to panic. But before she could begin rambling an apology, Beca noticed a slow grin curving on Chloe's lips.

Chloe leaned forward on the desk. "I don't know." She smirked, flicking her eyes down at the book. "Why don't you give me a call sometime and find out?"

Beca furrowed her brow, but then opened the book and found a piece of paper with Chloe's name and phone number written on it. She lifted her head back up in surprise and grinned when the redhead winked at her.

* * *

 **Author's 2nd Note: Ayyeee, get it Beca!**

 **If you'd like to find some of my other work, follow me on Tumblr at: not-so-average-fangirl.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


End file.
